1002 The Scallop and its Fishery. [ December, 
end of Long Island, and at a few minor points on the New Jersey 
coast. Long Island sound, New York bay, Sandy Hook and 
much of the Jersey shore, have been so thoroughly depopulated 
that any fishery for scallops there has been abandoned. Occa- 
sionally a supply appears at this or that point, but uncertainly 
and temporarily. I was told, for example, by the oyster-planters 
on the north shore of Long Island, that scallops were tolerably 
plentiful there (particularly at Northport) once in five years. Such 
a statement is puzzling, and leads to a study of the habits of the 
scallop in search of an explanation. 
The proper home of this species (P. irradians) seems to be in 
fairly deep water on a firm bottom—either sand or tough mud ; 
yet in many localities grassy beds (2. e., eel-grass—Zostera) are 
resorted to by it, especially when young. The general habits 
and behavior of our American scallops, such as living in com- 
panies or ‘“schools,” moving about and darting to the surface of 
the water by a quick opening and shutting of the shells, to sink 
down again along an inclined plane forward, are familiar to all 
readers of natural histories, and closely similar to those of the 
European “ St. Jacob’s shells.” 
_ The spawn of our scallop is thrown out in early summer, and 
so much of it as becomes fertilized and is able, “catches” or 
“sets” on stones, sea-weeds and other firm supports, from the 
sheltered tide-pools down toaconsiderable depth. By the middle 
of July this “ seed ” is about as large as the head of a lead pencil, 
and it does not drop from its support for two weeks or more. 
The growth is so very rapid that the young scallops have attained 
about half their size by the time cold weather checks their ad- 
- vancement. 
In November the young scallops, spawned the previous June, 
will be found in great numbers all along the clean shores of . 
ragansett bay from an inch to an inch and a half in diameter, an 
i ; i t 
moving about very actively. Where eel-grass grows 10 ane 
g 
quantities, however, the young keep among it, clinging te 
stalks until by their weight they bend them down to the bottom 
or break them off, and are swept away with the gras 
goes adrift in the fall. Should such a tenanted raft of sea- 
= -drift into a bay and rest there, as frequently O 
s when it 
weed 
where 
